Heroes of the New Day

What began as a simple journey has turned into so much more...

Thay

Known for powerful magics and the red robes of their wizards, the mageocracy of Thay is a fearful place that many other nations have warred with. Many of the details of Thay are sketchy, as few “good” characters go there. There are a number of bard’s tales about Thay, though… some of which might actually have some truth to them.

- Thay’s Red Wizards are a separate social class in the nation. They have a hierarchy among wizards, which may be designated by the color of rope used to tie the robes on.
- Red Wizards practice a type of magic called “circle magic”, where they can cast more powerful spells when there are more of them present (like assisting an Arcana check, but much stronger).
- The Majority of the Thayans are human, though they’ve got smaller contingents of dwarves, elves, eladrin, half-elves, and half-orcs.
- There may be orc tribes living in the lands of Thay.
- There is said to be a dragon graveyard somewhere in Thay, guarded by Dracoliches.
- There is a council of archmages who run Thay, called Tharchions, though there have been times when there has also been a supreme ruler. Currently nobody’s heard of a supreme ruler, so it’s likely that council politicking has prevented one from rising above the rest.
- Thay has tentative trade deals with Pax Humana, some of the Travailian crime families, the Sankh Kingdom, and several of the city-states north of the Sea of Cataclysm. Thay used to do trade with Neverwinter, until the eruption of Mt. Hotenow disrupted that city.
- necromancy is openly allowable in Thay
- some say that slavery is practiced in Thay, though others say that “slaves” are actually just risen undead servants, and that “death” is not the worst sentence you can receive in Thay.
- It is rumored that Ssaz Tam, the once-head necromancer of the kingdom of Atramor who faced off against King Bator Ironhammer’s army in its final battle, is somehow present in modern-day Thay. This may be because he had a phylactery elsewhere that let him reform after whatever it was happened in that battle. Or maybe his magical tomes and items were taken by an apprentice who now uses his name. Or maybe he had a clone set up to take over should he die. All are possibilities, but whomever this individual is with his name, he’s probably a member of the ruling wizard council in Thay.
- The trouble with Thay is that despite being, essentially, “EVIL”, they produce damned good magical items, and in greater quantity than anywhere else. It is rumored that they have access to some great source of residuum, though sages cannot fathom what this source might be. But regardless, most of the magic items north of the Sea of Cataclysm have Thay’s hand in them. They’re just too useful to truly hate, and way too well-armed to invade.
- Other known big names/Tharchions in Thay are:
___ Valindra Shadowmantle, female lich, has an airship
___Manshoon, (currently) elderly human known to “reset” into a new, younger clone body when he ages too much
___Aznar Thrul, male human evocationist, originally trained by Khelben the Blackstaff in Waterdeep, current holder of several world fireball records.
___Azhir Kren, female human arcane swordsman of some sort (likely swordmage)
___Dmitra Flass, female halfelf, a “public face” of Thay who has overseen many of the trade deals Thay has with other nations
___Thessaloni, female goliath battlemaster. Highest non-arcane military leader in the nation.
___Fzoul Chembryl, male elf, high priest of Cyric

Places of InterestThe Academy of Shapers and Binders. Perhaps the best school for summoning and binding magicians, students from this academy can not only summon creatures from many realms, but can shape the energies around these summoned creatures to make them stronger, faster, imbued with elemental energies, or otherwise “enhanced”. Delhumide. A large city built on the ruins of a large city from a previous empire. Many relics of that former empire are said to still function within the walls of this city.The Flesh Forest. Taking up much of the eastern edge of Thay, this region is ruled by Mordain, the Flesh-Weaver, a dedicated if insane wizard who has made his home so horrid that beasts from The Verge Wilderness do not cross the border into the Flesh Forest. There are stories of Mordain’s awful experiments told by many a gruesome-mouthed bard.The Surmarsh. An area of southern Thay that is swampy, many ghosts are said to haunt these marshes. There is also a rumor that there is some sort of connection to a marshy sub-realm of the feywild in the Surmarsh. A number of green dragons have also been sited in this area, as well as a supposedly corrupted copse of treants who seek to spread the marshes area, pushing it closer and closer to Melora’s Womb…Thaymount. Mountainous area said to contain goldmines, magical armorment forges, some volcanic activity, and many secret training facilities (for what is anyone’s guess).Zhentil Keep. The northern area of Thay is known as Zhentarim, and is a desolate wasteland with one large walled city: Zhentil Keep. The Zhentarim are known to have large armies, but they are all undead. The citizens are (likely) living, but there are no graves in Zhentil Keep (the ground is too cold, anyway). The Keep is located near the Severny Lake, and the citizens are known as master fishermen.